10 Awesome Accidental Discoveries

As Plato said, "science is nothing but perception," and these 10 accidental acts of discovery embody the sentiment. Of course, it helps to be a leading scientist in the field—devoting your life to the pursuit of one cure, invention, or innovation—but a little luck goes a long way, too.

Penicillin

Penicillin

Forever enshrined in scientific legend, the discovery of penicillin—a group of antibiotics used to combat a variety of bacterial infections—is really just a case of dirty dishes. Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming took an August vacation from his day-to-day work in the lab investigating staphylococci, known commonly as staph. Upon his return on Sept. 3, 1928, the perceptive scientist found a strange fungus on a culture he had left in his lab—a fungus that had killed off all surrounding bacteria in the culture. Modern medicine was never the same.

The Microwave

The Microwave

Sometimes all you really need to make the next leap in science is a snack. Percy Spencer was an American engineer who, while working for Raytheon, walked in front of a magnetron, a vacuum tube used to generate microwaves, and noticed that the chocolate bar in his pocket melted. In 1945 after a few more experiments (one involving an exploding egg), Spencer successfully invented the first microwave oven. The first models were a lot like the early computers: bulky and unrealistic. In 1967, compact microwaves would begin filling American homes.